Quiros, Spanish bomber, shrinks long Firestone
AKRON, Ohio – What’s Spanish for “long?” Or “Outta sight?” Maybe “long” is what his name means in Spanish – Alvaro Quiros.
He does passably well in English, speaking with a heavy Spanish accent, and perfectly understandable. But with the golf club in his hands, there is no misunderstanding him. He speaks a language in golf that they’d understand in Katmandu – power.
He gave a translation Friday at Firestone South’s famed monster, the par-5 16th. It was playing at 656 yards. He hit driver and 5-wood – and flew the green.
“But I made a good recovery shot and I made birdie,” said Quiros, who shot a bogey-free 65 for a 3-under 137 total, just four shots off Padraig Harrington’s lead in the second round of the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational.
Quiros, 26, was preceded by his reputation – a true bomber. He’s coming fast on the European Tour, where he’s won three times. He averages 315.6 yards on the Euro Tour, but he often doesn’t hit driver off the tee, deferring instead to less potent clubs to try to get to the preferred spots on the shorter courses.
Reputation hasn’t gotten him far on the biggest stage. He’s missed the cut in the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open, and hasn’t been impressive in his brief showing on the PGA Tour. He missed the cut in the Shell Houston Open, tied for 13th in the WGC-CA Championship, tied for 33rd in the WGC-Accenture Match Play and tied for 52 in the Transitions. Next, he’s headed to the PGA Championship at Hazeltine next week.
But back to the 65 at Firestone …
“In general, the only thing that changed was the putting,” Quiros said. “The greens were quicker and firmer than yesterday, which is good for me. At the same time, I didn’t hit the ball better, from the tee, but I was lucky. Twice I had a difficult chip shot to recover, and I made it. So a lucky day today.”
Luck turned out to be one of only four bogey-free rounds of the day and, with Jerry Kelly, the low round of the day at 65. Quiros birdied both par-5s, starting with No. 2, a bunt and a putt of 526 yards for him, and then three birdies over the last four holes. He was versatile. The 15th is a par 3, the 18th a tough par 4.
Whether coincidence or not, he was paired with J.B. Holmes, one of the biggest hitters on the PGA Tour, so the question was a lock – who was longer?
“If we hit good shots, both -- which is something difficult and very strange – we are very close,” Quiros said. “I mean, two or three times I hit a very good driver and he goes over me, and the opposite situation, too. The same, probably.”
Quiros was at the Firestone practice range Monday, toying around with a persimmon driver, being the classic wood used in woods before they were made of metals. He said he loved it, loved the feel of it. He could really shape his drives. But when it came to length? “I hit with the driver the same distance as my 5-wood,” he said. Which could be a textbook point in any discussion on whether technology has really affected the game.
Quiros is confronted with different playing conditions when he comes to the U.S., most of them to his liking.
“In general, it’s not the distance, it’s about weather conditions, with the greens conditions,” he said. “I don’t have to be thinking always in the spin of the ball when I hit shorter clubs. In Europe sometimes you play short golf courses, which is good, because I’m always with short clubs. But at the same time bad, because the greens are wetter, so the spin of the ball is too much, so I have to be changing my speed of my swing. Here, I can be more safety. I can hit more high, don’t be worried about how much it’s going to come back, the ball.”
Put another way, he prefers the aerial game.
“Thinking of my height,” he said. “Hit the ball high. It’s important in the states. It’s a good thing.”
And so he’s looking forward to playing on the PGA Tour.
“I think it’s my time to come here,” Quiros said. “I’m 26. If I don’t do it now, when I’m going to do it?”
Maybe he could stop by and see Jose Maria Olazabal, and get some of his short game (Ollie, a short hitter, once shot 61 at Firestone), and check with Seve Ballesteros and get a bit of his genius. What’s “mortal lock” in Spanish?
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